Destiny is a Funny Thing
by funfanfin
Summary: ZUTARA. Post war, only canon conflict is that this version doesn't end with crappy relationships (I'd say no offense, but I wouldn't mean it). Zuko and Katara explore unresolved feelings after the war. She thanks him for saving her, and they both struggle to hide their feelings for each other. PLEASE REVIEW, tell me what you think, what you like/don't like, etc. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The war was finally, finally over. Everything was just as she had been told it would be once peace reigned once and for all. Yet, it was different than Katara had imagined it would be, good, but still, different. But, all of the people she loved were here, alive and safe.

She had kissed Aang on the balcony, overwhelmed with pride and love for the young monk who had overcome so much. They truly had gone through the worst, Katara thought, and the war was _finally_ over.

In a state of pure content, Katara looked at the people in the apartment, her family, born out of trial and sacrifice and betrayal and forgiveness and blood and love. Everyone was here, Aang, Sokka, Toph, Suki, Iroh, Zuko….Zuko who winced while bending down to serve tea to the war heroes. _Why was he still wincing?_ She thought, worry creeping into her heart. She pulled at a strand of hair, nervously twisting it as she observed him.

Serving tea to Mai, _wince._ Smiling at Sokka, _wince._ Laughing at Toph who was tricking Sokka, _wince._ The others didn't seem to notice, but Katara's eyes were trained to notice red flags such as the ones Zuko was showing every few minutes.

Frowning, she walked towards him, grabbing the tray from his hands and placing it on the table. Grabbing his sleeve, she pulled him towards one of the bedrooms in the apartment.

"Katara, what—what are you doing? Where are you taking me?" He asked, puzzled at her sudden and silent actions, yet following her nonetheless.

She didn't answer him. Once in the room, she let go of his sleeve and gestured to the bed. "Lie down." She commanded.

Narrowing his eyes, but not wanting to anger a master waterbender, he complied. She crossed the room to fill a bowl of water. "Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded, as he lay still on the bed.

"Tell you what?" He asked, truly confused.

Bringing the bowl to the side of the bed, she sat and raised his shirt. Gesturing to the large, red, irritated scar, she said, "About this!"

He let his head fall back onto the pillow, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Because I didn't want to worry you. I'm fine, Katara."

Huffing at him, she asked. "You didn't want me to worry? Really, Zuko? So you've just been dealing with the pain quietly?"

He nodded, opening his golden eyes at her. They were beautiful, she thought for a second, like two infinitely burning suns, filled with emotion and meaning.

She sighed, frustrated with him in more ways than one. Gloving her hand with water, she placed it over the scar, and began to heal it.

A thick tension entered the room, as the two silently remembered how he had gotten the scar on his chest. Blue lightning, crackling and dancing in front of them, eyes wide and hearts heavy as Zuko lunged in front of the stream of Azula's lightning.

Emotion thick in her throat, she swallowed before softly asking, "Why did you do it, Zuko?"

The cool blue glow of her healing brightened as she focused on repairing the tissues. He knew what she was referring to. "Because she would have killed you. I would have never forgiven myself."

"She almost killed _you_ , though." She said, anger creeping ever so slightly into her tone. Focusing through blurry vision, she asked, "But she was vulnerable, you could have struck her down right there and then, letting you take the throne back."

Running a hand through his raven black hair, he repeated, "She would have killed you, though."

She stopped for a moment, water returning back to the bowl. Katara looked at him. "So, you would have rather lost everything, the throne, your life, just so that I could live?"

Zuko stared up at the ceiling, not daring to look at her, and not hesitating in his reply. "Yes."

"What if it had been Sokka, or Toph? Would you still have jumped in front of her lightning?" She asked. The questions had plagued her mind ever since the attack, and her curiosity was getting the best of her.

He thought long and hard before answering her. Looking at her, he sighed. "I mean, I like to think that I would have, but I—I'm not sure." When Katara didn't respond, he continued. "If I had to go back now and do it all over again, but with Sokka or Toph in your place, I would. But in the moment," he sighed again, "I'm not sure. I just knew _you_ couldn't die."

One more question, she thought, she had to ask one last question that had been infiltrating her thoughts unbidden lately. Katara took a deep breath.

"Would you have done it for Mai?" She asked softly, ashamed to look at him, ashamed to have asked, and ready for the firestorm she would receive.

Instead, Zuko lay quietly on the bed, still staring at the not so interesting ceiling.

"She's my girlfriend." He finally said. Katara noticed that he didn't answer her question.

"Yeah, but would you—" she started.

"KATARA! There you are!" Aang walked in, not bothered by the fact that 'his girl' was seated next to a shirtless Zuko.

Her eyes locked onto Zuko, and she didn't break their gaze. "Hey Aang, I'm just healing Zuko's scar, I'll be out in a few." Finally turning, she smiled at the airbender a little too sweetly.

He nodded happily and teased, "Well, you better hurry, Toph is going to challenge Sokka to a boomerang throwing contest!" He left, as quickly as he had come.

Distracted by the young airbender's interruption, Katara regloved her hands and began healing Zuko's scar once again. She was surprised when he grabbed her wrist, his thumbs tracing circles on her tanned skin.

Looking at her purposefully, he said quietly, "It's okay Katara, it doesn't hurt. You don't have to do this."

She glared at him. "As a matter of fact, Zuko, I do have to do this."

"Bu—" He started to protest, and she placed a finger to his lips.

"Please, Zuko. Please let me do this for you." She said, almost pleading.

He sighed, warm breath tickling her finger. "Fine." He smiled, shaking his head.

"What?" She challenged, returning her right hand to his scar.

"You're so stubborn, Katara."

She grinned. "Every day, you are to report to me for a healing session. Got it, Firelord?"

He put his hands together in respectful bow, "Yes, Master Katara." He said seriously.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She had found him sitting by the turtleduck pond the night before his coronation.

Flicking water at him, she teased, "It's not like you need to be well rested for your coronation as FIRE LORD tomorrow or anything."

Her smile disappeared quickly when he didn't even look up at her. Sitting next to him, she placed a hand on his upper arm. "What's wrong, Zuko?"

He clenched his jaw and looked at her, his eyes rimmed with red from the presence of tears, the lack of sleep, or most likely both. Voice breaking, he said slowly, "I had a dream…a nightmare. About the Agni Kai."

She faced the water, tears coming to her eyes as well. She had had nightmares too.

"You _died,_ Katara. I wasn't fast enough…I tried but I just…I wasn't good enough to beat Azula." He whispered.

Katara had opened her mouth, looking for some words of comfort, but was interrupted as he pulled her into a tight embrace. She hugged him back, unspoken feelings pouring through their touch. They sat, holding onto each other firmly.

After a while, Katara buried her face into his shoulder and confessed, "I've had nightmares too. There's this one where I'm stuck in chains, not able to go to you and heal you. There's another where I'm trying to heal you, but I'm firebending instead of waterbending, burning you and not being able to stop." She swallowed. "But the worst one," her voice reduced to a tiny whisper, "is where you don't even seize or move after she hits you with—with the lightning. You die, instantly."

He pulled her closer, whispering comforting words into her ear. "It's okay, I'm here, you're here, we're both alive. This is real, Katara. We are here and we are safe and we are alive." He said, and Katara wasn't sure he was saying that just to comfort her.

At last they broke the hug, but didn't dare leave the comfortable assurance of each other's presence. Katara placed her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her. Zuko smiled faintly at the beautiful waterbender who was had almost instantly fallen asleep.

Careful not to wake her, he placed his arms under her neck and bent knees, and carried her back to her room. She nuzzled against his chest, feeling safe and more than content.

"Thank you, Zuko." She murmured.

"Your room isn't that far."

She placed an hand on his chest, careful to not touch his still healing scar. "No…no. Thank you for not dying. Thank you for saving my life. Thank you, Zuko."

He was quiet for some time, waiting until he thought she was truly asleep and tucked into bed before responding. He smiled slightly. "Thank you, Katara, for saving mine, in more ways than one."

Shutting the door, he didn't see the smile on Katara's face when she heard his reply.

* * *

A/N- Welp. There's the first two chapters. Please review, tell me your thoughts, tell your likes/dislikes, your wildest dreams and how much you love Zutara. I'm currently working on chapter three. Oh, and did I mention that reviews give me life? Seriously, negative or positive, they help me get an idea of what my story sounds like to other people. Shoot, i forgot to do a disclaimer? I'll just do a general one right now. This very formal informal disclaimer states that I do not own anything from the ATLA universe. Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

On a particularly cool summer evening, Katara decided to pay Zuko a visit. He had been stuck in his office all week, drowning in an ocean of paperwork for after-war reparations and treaties. Whenever she mentioned to Aang that she was going to visit the young, busy Firelord, he would just shake his head sadly and say, "Good luck getting him to even notice you're in there."

Yet, whenever she stopped by, Zuko would nod his head in greeting, lean back in his chair, and ask her how her day was going. She would ask him if she was interrupting anything, and he always said, "No, no, of course not. It's time for a break anyways", even if it was the third time that day she had come to visit him.

Katara didn't understand why Aang always complained that Zuko never even gave him the time of day.

Knocking on the large, imposing door to his study, she entered slowly, noticing his tired golden eyes searching through mounds of paper.

"So, is this what you imagined when you dreamed of being Firelord?" She joked. He cracked a small smile, but kept his eyes firmly glued on the paper in front of him.

She sat on the only spot of his desk that was not covered in scrolls. If _anyone_ of Zuko's advisors saw her sitting on _the Firelord's_ desk like this, they would likely argue that she should be banished for her disrespect. Katara rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Hey, Zuko?" She asked.

"Hmm?" He replied, distracted. Although he turned his head slightly towards her, his eyes were still trained on the scroll he was reading.

Katara picked at a piece of loose skin next to her nail. "What do you believe about destiny?" She asked, swinging her legs back and forth casually.

"Destiny?" He repeated, looking up at her questioningly. She nodded, and he asked, "What do you mean what do I believe about it?" Placing the papers down onto his desk, he focused completely on her.

She took a deep, stressed breath. "Like, there was this one time, during the war, when this fortune teller told me that I was destined to marry a powerful bender. But the more I think about it, the more I feel like it's not my choice. What if I fell madly in love with a nonbender?" She paused, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Am I destined to marry Aang?"

She hadn't meant to say the last part, but with Zuko, everything was always so honest, upfront, and real. They had seen each other at their darkest, and because of that, they could never seem to keep anything from each other. That's how Katara knew that Zuko and Mai had been fighting for the past three weeks.

Zuko kept his eyes on her as he pondered her words.

"When I was banished, I thought it was my destiny to capture the Avatar. It turned out that it was my destiny to join him. But, I still feel like I _chose_ to do everything. Every mistake, every wrong, every right." He glanced down. "I _chose_ to betray you in the catacombs. That _wasn't_ destiny." He said, his voice dripping with bitterness and regret.

Biting her lip, Katara placed a hand on his. "Zuko…"

He kept going. "Katara, you control your life. And besides, Aang isn't the only powerful bender in the whole world. I mean, King Bumi is a powerful bender, maybe that's who you're destined to marry."

Katara laughed out loud at the thought, covering her mouth and shaking her head at him.

"Uncle used to tell me that destiny is a funny thing, and that it will lead you to things you never could have imagined."

She glanced out of the window at Aang, who was engaged in a playful fight with Toph. Watching as Toph put him in a headlock, she smiled sadly.

Looking down, she confessed, "I feel so bad. I mean, I love him. I do." Katara took a deep breath before continuing. "But I feel like I need to figure out my own destiny. I need to be Katara, not the 'Avatar's girl'. _So many_ people have started calling me that, Zuko." She sighed. "Aang talks about this amazing future he has planned, and all I can think about is how it's _his_ amazing future, not mine. I need to go home. I want to teach waterbending to my people. I want to help rebuild. As _Katara_."

Zuko squeezed her hand. "Then you should."

"I don't know, Zuko." She breathed. "When two people go through _so much_ together, it's hard not to love them…to want to be with them for the rest of your life."

She met his eyes, only to find them staring deeply into her own. They seemed to hold a million different thoughts, blazing brightly at her, filled with emotions she wasn't sure she wanted to name.

"I know what you mean." He said, before looking away. "It's always been Mai. Ever since I was younger, she always hung around the palace, playing with Azula and Ty Lee. Everyone just assumed we would get married when we grew up, and I guess I just got used to that. But now that everything is real, and people are pushing me to find a wife, I'm not so sure if it's even what I want anymore. I mean, she'd be an amazing Fire Lady."

Katara felt her heart drop when he said that, and she didn't want to think about why. He was right. Mai was perfect for the role. Not knowing what to say, she waited until Zuko continued.

"It's selfish…" he started, "but more than the Fire Nation needs a Fire Lady, I need a wife. I need someone who will challenge me, teach me, humble me, and strengthen me all at once so that I can be what the Fire Nation needs me to be. What the world needs me to be." He cleared his throat. "Whenever I try to ask Mai for her opinion on a certain deal or a treaty, she rolls her eyes, sighs, and says 'Whatever you want, Zuko, _you're_ the Firelord.'" He sighed, obviously frustrated.

She moved her hand away from his and placed it on his cheek, tilting his face up to look at her. Katara grinned.

Zuko frowned. "What? Katara, this isn't funny."

"Look at us," she said, shaking her head, "we're both moving at full speed towards futures we're not even sure we want."

His frown disappeared and he looked at her as he thought over her words. Raising a hand, he reached up and tucked a piece of stray hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. Katara sat as still as a statue as his hand lingered behind her ear, his thumb brushing her cheek.

Touching had become much more casual between them lately, she had noticed. It seemed that from the crystal catacombs to Katara hugging Zuko on the docks after forgiving him, touching had always been as instinctive and natural as breathing.

With their daily healing sessions, they had become even more comfortable with each other. Even when Katara had finished working on his scar, her hands would find themselves resting on his chest. His fingers would trace the lines under her eyes gently as he admonished her to get more sleep. And, when they both had nightmares, they found themselves, more often than not, hugging by the turtleduck pond. When walking, their hands would brush against each other far too often.

"We need a vacation." Zuko said, jokingly, bringing Katara back to the present.

"You're right." She said, not a hint of humor in her tone.

She jumped off of his desk and got into a fighting stance. When he looked at her quizzically, she glared at him as seriously as she could manage.

"Firelord Zuko, I'm kidnapping you for a week."

"No. No way Katara. I have to finish these reparations tonight or the generals will be the ones kidnapping me."

She dropped her stance and crossed her arms. "Fine. Then we'll finish everything tonight and I'll kidnap you tomorrow."

"I can't take a week long break from being Firelord!"

"Come on, Zuko." She pleaded. "Iroh can take care of the Fire Nation for seven days." She bit her lip as she watched him consider it.

"Fine. I'll think about." He said, the corners of his mouth turning slightly upward, not matching his attempted tone of displeasure at the idea. She grinned and he picked up a stack of papers, shoving it in her direction. "But only if you help me with this paperwork."

She nodded eagerly, sat down, and began filing through the papers. A smile grew on her face as she thought about just how she was going to convince Iroh that Zuko needed a week long break.

Glancing up at him, she watched as his eyebrows were drawn in concentration as he muttered over a certain scroll. Standing up, she walked over to him.

"Let me see." She said, holding her hand out. Zuko handed it to her without hesitation. Her eyes widened as she read. "Wow, Zuko, they're asking for _a lot_ of money. What are you going to do?"

He let out a long, slow breath. "I don't know."

Katara chewed on her bottom lip, an idea already forming in her mind, but not sure if she should tell him what it was.

Zuko leaned back in his chair. "What do you think?" He asked, folding his arms across himself, waiting for her reply.

"Well..." she started, "What if..."

The two discussed the idea, which involved a lot of volunteer service, a certain cabbage merchant, and using some of Ozai's 'personal reserves' until they had finally reached a solution to the problem.

As Zuko carefully folded the declaration and placed it into a letter, stamping the official Fire Lord seal onto it, he held the envelope up proudly.

"You're a genius, Katara." He stated.

Katara laughed as she walked back over to her pile of papers.

"I know." She said, only half-joking as her mind already working on solving the next problem in her stack.

* * *

A/N- That's chapter 3! This chapter is dedicated to the amazing anon who told me I should update this fic. This is for you, my friend :) I'm super busy with An Echo Between Us (it takes up wayyyy more time than I should let it tbh) but I do want to keep working on this fic as I have some ideas for it. I hope I can update more regularly, but if it ever takes me longer than two weeks, send me another anon asking me if i'm going to update.

Please review! Tell me what you think!


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